An April fool's tale
by Th3goodguy
Summary: What holiday does Ash fear and hate the most and why? Read and find out. WARNING: Possibly very depressing for some readers.


An April fool's tale.

Disclaimer: I have never nor ever have and to this day, never own(ed) Poke'mon. If I did, Ash and Misty would have gotten together. So would May and Drew. And Dawn would have either gotten together with Paul or Kenny.

A/n: **Read this, Read this, READ THIS! **This fic is inspired/ based on "Dragoknight's" (the profile does not have an 's) fan fiction called, "Payment." Credit for the inspiration of this story goes to "Dragoknight." This is to prevent those of you who may flame or report a violation. "Dragoknight" **has** given me permission to write and post this story but is welcome to criticize me for abuse if he or she feels necessary to do so. I hope everyone who reads enjoys reading it as I did writing it, by the by, this is my first posted one-shot but is not my first one shot written. Now it's time to Reeeeeeeeeaaaad oooooooon!

A/n: The following story is NOT based on any actual (real life) stories and or characters. Any likeness to or similarities to an actual event are purely coincidental. This fanfic was written by (me) the author from (my) imagination. Please be respectful if there is a known person to have gone through similar events as described in the story. (I) The author expresses his apologies if there is or are people who have gone through a similar experience.

An April fool's tale

We are currently following a young trainer who is returning home after accomplishing his life long dream of becoming a Poke'mon master. He is a young man of seventeen, well built, high spirited, and friendly to everyone he meets. His hair is black in color and in a messy raven style that seems to never straighten out. A little Pikachu was on his shoulder, happily watching the scenery pass by, which was for it, a pretty high up distance. The newly proclaimed Poke'mon master, Ash Ketchum, had finally came to the sight of his quiet little town, returning at last from his most important journey.

He came into view of his quiet house in the neighborhood where he soon hoped to see his mother waiting there for him. Pikachu hopped of his shoulder and scampered into the house through the custom made door specially designed for him. Ash chuckled as he ran up to the house after Pikachu, jumping over the knee high fence that blocked off the yard to his home.

As he approached the front door he noticed something strange that he had never seen any other time he returned from a journey, a small yellow note that was posted on the wood of the door. The note was in Ash's mother's hand writing and explained the reason behind this new detail.

Reading the little letter left by his mother, Ash allowed himself to stay on the doorstep until he was done reading the message. The letter read: Dear Ashy,

I'm sooo proud of you for becoming a Poke'mon master, I always knew that one day you would! I'm sorry that I can't be home right now especially since it's such a big day for you. Your aunt called me and she was feeling horribly ill so I went over to Pewter and right now I'm taking care of her. Hopefully I'll be back before you get home but if I'm not I want you to know that I'm truly happy and proud of your victory against the elite four. I love you, my little Ash, with all my heart. -Mom

His eyes were somewhat tearful but he was mature enough to understand. At this moment he was sitting on the couch inside his living room. He knew his mother didn't want to go and he knew that his aunt didn't have anyone to help her ever since his uncle died. Still, he wished that she was home, especially since today was the anniversary of… "Oh damn I forgot, my poke'mon!" Ash said changing the direction of his train of thought. Just now he realized that out of excitement, he had forgotten to take his Poke'mon to a Poke'mon center. Ash felt bad for not being a better care taker for his creature friends. Getting on his feet, he headed once again to the door, except now he was going out instead of in. Looking back at Pikachu he spoke, "Hey buddy, I'm gonna take the rest of the team to Prof. Oak's, do you wanna come with me or stay here? If you want, I can get you some chow in a bowl if you want to stay?" Sadness was dedected in his voice which his yellow mouse companion quickly picked up on.

Pikachu hopped in Ash's arms and let him carry him out the house. "Pika chu pika Pika pi." /I'll go with you Ash./ His fluffy companion said comfortingly to it's trainer. The young master smiled down at his animal friend as it nuzzled into him showing it's affection towards him. "Thanks pal, I really appreciate it." He said softly to his best friend. Both the mouse and the human went out the door and proceeded down the road towards Prof. Oak's laboratory.

Concerned for it's trainer, Pikachu stared at him with worry in his eyes. Acting depressed wasn't like Ash at all, in fact he was normally more passionate and proactive. Today was different for some reason, Pikachu thought as he wondered what could be bothering his master. He barely talked all day instead of being his usual, social self. His pace was slow without determination like Pikachu was used to see from him. Although, if there was a part that was the worst for Pikachu, it was the missing smile on Ash's face. Every time Pikachu looked at Ash he always had a smile upon his face. Even when he wasn't trying to smile, there it would be, proudly etched on his face for all to see. But the lack of such a feature was as disturbing as seeing Mount Rushmore without the faces sculpted on it's surface.

The little mouse was chilled to it's spine to see his longest known friend so down. It was too much to bear for him to see the young man so disturbed by whatever he was deep in though about. There had been an uncomfortable silence amongst the two friends until Pikachu broke it and asked Ash, "Pika Pi, pika chu ka chu pi pi Pika?" /Ash, do you want to talk about what's bothering you?/ Genuinely wanting to help Ash out of his depression. Ash looked at his companion and masked a weak smile at it. "I'm okay buddy. It's just something that I… remembered from a while back. Don't worry about it, I promise I will feel way better later on." Half heartedly speaking to the electric rodent on his collar. _Or tomorrow if I can't stop thinking about how today is… _he looked up to see that he had practically stepped onto the small set of stairs that led to the main entrance to the Poke'mon lab of his friend Prof. Oak.

Allowing himself to lighten up, Ash went inside the building with a happier, more convincing grin on his face. As he looked around he couldn't help but recall when he got Pikachu seven years ago. It was a pleasant memory for him. Especially considering Pikachu was his first real friend besides Gary. However Ash and Gary were more frenemies than friends, but were still friends none the less.

Their friendship was especially meaningful for Ash since back when he was little, Gary was one of the few people who didn't do what all the other kids did to him on this exact day. "Hey Prof. Oak! I'm back from beating the elite four!" Shouting with great excitement in his voice.

The old professor looked at the young man in front of him. The first thing he realized was how much the adolescent had grown since he last saw him. His height nearly surpassed his own and his face looked older, not like the childish appearance he once had before. Even the way he moved seemed different, mature in posture. But to the older man, he would always see Ash as the ten year old boy who was still anxious to begin his first journey. "Hello Ash! Long time no see. I still see that Pikachu prefers to be outside his Pokeball." Greeting him in a pleasant conversation.

It felt good to be back, Ash thought. Yeah his mom wasn't home but at least someone he knew was still in town. "Yup, I could never put this guy in one of those Pokeballs. Although, I do need to ask a favor from you and I hope you don't mind?" He asked not wanting to sound to forward. Prof. Oak smiled warmly at him and gave a nod. "Sure Ash. What do you need? I would have figured you'd be taking it easy after defeating the elite four and all?" Oak said with curiosity in his tone. Ash shook his head, but not to disagree with his elder friend. "No, nothing like that. I was wondering if you could heal my Poke'mon, I stupidly forgot to heal them before leaving for home." Speaking in a tone that he signaled he could laugh at his own mistakes.

Oak gave one of those 'uh, okay' looks that confused Ash as to what the problem was. "Is there a problem Professor?" Uncertain as to why Oak gave him the look that he did. "Nnnoot reealy. Here's the thing Ash. I'm going to be leaving to pick Gary up from the airport soon and I probably won't be back until late at night so you might not be able to pick them up until tomorrow." Somewhat solemn at having to delay Ash from picking up his Poke'mon sooner. Ash shook his head into a small nod and handed over his five other Pokemon to Oak. "Th-that's fine. Thanks professor." A very slight catch in his throat. This did not go unnoticed by Oak, he grabbed Ash by the shoulder and turned him so that they faced each other. He had almost forgotten what day it was. "Ash. Are you going to be alright? If you want you can come with me to get Gary. I mean, since you two are more friendly and not so much as rivals he'd be happy to see you?" Trying to comfort the obviously depressed teenager in front of him. Ash considered taking Oak up on his offer, but he really wanted to be home right now, so he decided to decline and leave. He thanked the Professor as he left to return to his house.

As he stared at the door Ash had exited out of, Oak couldn't help but worry about the young trainer. Whenever this day of the year came along Ash seemed to be absolutely miserable. This didn't seem right to Oak, most children enjoyed this time of the year. Playing around with friends, having a bit of fun here and there, but this never was the case for Ash. It wasn't bad because Ash had didn't have friends back then. But because of how others used to treat him this time of the year. And it was sick to think it was all because he… "Oh dear I better get going! I don't want to worry Gary by being late." Realizing the time he grabbed his keys, left the lab then locked it up, and drove off to get his grandson after getting in his car. This distraction wouldn't last long as he again began to worry about Ash, and his safety.

The raven haired trainer and his small yellow Poke'mon were slowly pacing back to the house they were previously at, prior to Prof. Oak's. Silence was at the same awkward level as it was when the two were going to the lab, only this time Pikachu couldn't take the quiet suffering of his master any longer. With lightning speed it went down the collar of his shirt and began to tickle his torso area with his fur. Ash fell to the ground laughing not far off from his house. "Ha,ha,ha! Pi-Pikachu s-s-stop! Ha,ha! I-I can't take it!"

His laughter was audible enough to be heard by three females' ears. Sly grins spread on their faces as they got up from where they were waiting and went to separate locations that weren't far off from each other.

Ash had managed to pull Pikachu out from the inside of his shirt and began to hoarse play with him. Pikachu smiled at his success at making his master feel better even though he hadn't learned what it was that had originally been bothering Ash in the first place. "Pi chu ka chu Pika Pi ka pika pika, pika pika ka chu!" / Yes I finally got Ash to feel better, I'm gonna go inside!/ His electric friend pranced into his house. Ash rolled over and prepared to get up when he saw a small, feminine hand reach down to him. Tilting his head up, he looked at the girl with his brown eyes. Once he saw the orange hair, emerald eyes and the sweet little smile on her face, that's when Ash had recognized her. "Misty?" Slightly confused by her being at his house. It had been a long time since he had seen her but he could never forget a friend like her. Witch was strange for him to call her a friend considering she used to whack him with a giant mallet. "Hey Ash. How's it going?" Using a soft tone as well as a slightly flirtatious one.

She helped him off the ground and pulled him into a hug that made him blush a little. When they broke apart he noticed that she was wearing a similar outfit of her original one minus the straps. Her chest was clearly more developed since he last saw her, then again she was only twelve the last time he saw her. Ash felt a little nervous being around Misty considering she was just slightly shorter than him and more developed than he was used to seeing her. "M-Misty… So w-why a-a-are you in Pallet?" Barely getting out of the stutter he had gotten from looking at her appearance. Giggling for a couple of seconds, Misty moved in a little closer to Ash and whispered into his ear in a very seductive tone. "Don't you remember 'Mr. Poke'mon master' you still owe me something." Ash trembled at hearing his nickname that Misty had given him while she traveled with him.

At first he did not notice that as she stepped towards him with her hand on his chest, causing him to walk backwards to the door of his house. They stopped when his back hit the door to his home, Misty leaned in again and whispered "But now the price has gone up and will require some additional fees." She lightly bit his ear lobe and leaned back to return to his gaze. Ash knew what she was trying to do and it was working. A part of him said _this is wrong, Misty is your friend! This'll just ruin your friendship!_ While another part told him _shut up stupid! A seriously freakn' hot girl is about to make a pass at you! Just sit back and enjoy! _However, before Ash could decide Misty had pulled his head to hers by putting her hand behind his head and made him come to her. Their lips met in the middle point between their heads.

Was this real? Ash thought. He began to think that maybe he had somehow fallen asleep and dreamt that his luck had finally changed. That today would not be as bad as the ones of the years before. But it was real, he was actually kissing a girl he liked, on today of all days! His conscious lowered it's guard about the fact of what the significance of what today was. He allowed the red head girl to lead him into his house where they would soon continue their session on his couch. When they crashed onto the sofa, Misty ran her hand through his hair. Making his hat come off his head. Neither noticed the two females with an unconscious Pikachu in their custody. Pikachu appeared to be wrapped in what looked like a rubber blanket.

Both of the other females' jaws dropped along with dropping Pikachu who they let drop on the floor. Pikachu didn't wake up. Only Misty heard the thump of Pikachu's body hitting the ground. She returned to her senses as she slowly stopped kissing Ash. Pushing him off of her enough that she could grin at him evilly making him confused by this action. "What is it?" He asked worried by her expression, his senses slowly coming back to him as well. Loosening her arms so that he laid on top of her again, she whispered four words that made Ash panic and come back to reality. Those four words were all that it took to get him to remember why today was such a bad day.

Before he could do anything to protect himself Misty switched positions with him and signaled for the other two girls to come over. A new girl took Misty's place as she straddled Ash as Misty did and smiled evilly at him just as Misty did also. This girl had Brown hair blue eyes and dark blue tights along with a red shirt easily identifying her as… "May! What are you doing? Get off me!" Frantically shouting orders at the girl who sat on him. Squirming did him no good, Misty was holding down his hands next to his head so that now he couldn't break free due to May's and her own position. Still, Ash resisted the girls torture as if his life depended on it. The sight wasn't pretty, Ash looked like he was being possessed by a demon. Thrashing, squirming, moving any way he can in attempt to be free. The raven haired teen had become consumed by the fear of what had happened in the past. It was driving him to fight back, avoid the hurt that was sure to come.

The brunet chuckled at his frantic cries, she then put her hand on his mouth to muffle his screams. Meanwhile, the other girl and Misty, had slightly concerned expressions on their faces. They wondered why Ash seemed to be acting… scared, of what was happening. Despite this, they didn't stop what they were doing. Whatever it was that was making Ash freak out would have to be figured out later.

May leaned in and kissed Ash's lips until he inevitably submitted to her and kissed back. Even though he was likely about to be tormented in some way, he still couldn't resist a kiss from an attractive girl like her. May chuckled as she pulled away, she had an easy time getting her breath back. While Ash was panting for air as a result of having to kiss for a long period of time after struggling against two girls for freedom. "You're so easy to overcome Ash! Why do you have all this muscle if you can't even fend off Misty and me hmmm?" Taunting him and poking at his muscular biceps.

Ash wanted to cry from all the memories that were coming back to him as he lay there, trapped by two girls. Yet the fear was so great that even his tears were afraid to show themselves to the world. "May, Misty, please! Don't do this! I can't take it, you don't know how bad you're making this for me right now!" He said begging to his captors, desperate to be doing almost anything rather than this. May's only response was to peck him on the lips and to say, "No Ashy, you put yourself in this situation when you didn't pay us back for our bikes! Now we're collecting our dues."

This was unbelievable! The boy thought. He was getting harassed on the worst day of his life that came along every year, and it was all because of some stupid bikes that he hadn't paid for yet! His brain told him to beg and reason with the girls. "Guys wait! Whatever you're gonna do, don't! I have money from my winnings that if you just wait I'll…" That's when he noticed the bluenett looking down at him with the unconscious Pikachu tucked in her arm. "Dawn?! Pikachu!" He cried, now fighting with all his strength to free himself and his friend. Who seemed to be at the moment, his one and only true best friend.

Pushing him down so that he can't get up in the slightest, May made a tisk, tisk, tisk sound at him. "Oh Ash. You had your chance to pay us back, but now you've taken too long. So we've taken matters into our own hands. Since you caused us to lose something we liked, we're going to make you lose Pikachu by selling him and using the money to get new bikes!" Menacingly lecturing him as an evil villain in a comic would to the hero. Ash was horrified to hear this, especially from someone he once considered a friend. He was even more disturbed by the thought that three of his best friends he had traveled with were in on the deal. This truly is the worst day of the year… no of his life, his friends had betrayed him and were getting satisfaction in doing so.

Ash had gone berserk now, his face getting red with frustration every morsel of his being fighting against the girls who were holding him down, keeping him from protecting his best friend from being sold as a toy to someone else. Unfortunately all the straining on his mind and body had caused to him to black out. The last thing he saw before going to sleep was Pikachu's unconscious head popping out of the electric rubber proof blanket wrapped tightly around his body.

Misty and May got off of Ash and sighed out relief for not having to restrain him anymore. May looked at Ash in an inspecting manner, then she looked at Misty as if she was expecting Misty to explain something to her. "Why aren't there any other Poke'mon on his belt?" May asked looking at Misty confused by the empty belt on Ash's waist. All Misty could do is shrug and give her best idea of what she think happened. "When Ash was coming, he looked like he came from the direction where Prof. Oak's lab is. I'm guessing he must have taken them there for some reason."

Disappointed at the news May pouted as she crossed her arms, whining about the unexpected change of plan. "Aw man! Now all we got is Pikachu! Granted he'll be enough, but I thought it would have been a lot more fun having all his Pokemon for this." Misty gave May a worried look as she remembered the terror that was on Ash's face just seconds ago. Dawn while still having Pikachu in her arm, got closer to Ash with concern for his bizarre behavior. It was unsettling for Dawn and Misty to see him panicking at simply being held down. Almost as though the young master had expected the three girls to trick him into being held down against his will.

After tying Ash by his wrists to the railing on the staircase, the three females began to discuss what they had just witnessed from their male friend. Dawn was the first to open up the conversation. "I know that we're trying to get back at him and all but… isn't this going overboard? Ash looked really, really scared when we caught him and Pikachu." Her tone told May and Misty that she was worried for the young master that they had "tortured earlier." Misty followed in after Dawn, granted she wanted to be repaid for her bike but she didn't want to traumatize the boy in the process. "Yeah, I've seen Ash scared before, but not like this. It was almost as if he thought we were trying to take his humanity away." Voice soft as she spoke. The red head felt a little ashamed for helping May and Dawn to make Ash feel so afraid a few moments ago. She looked up at the other two girls, seeing that they to were bothered by the fear Ash performed before them.

Their conversation had taken place on the couch where they sat after preparing the final touches to their plan. Each of the girls thought about Ash and his reaction to their sneak attack that they had done to him. All three them were puzzled as to why Ash was so afraid when they pinned him onto the couch. In fact, his face had told them that he had reached a level of terror that none of his friends, not even Pikachu had seen. This was the main focus of their talk for a few minutes until moving on, returning their minds to their plan and awaiting for Ash to wake up so that they may continue. For almost four hours the girls waited for their pray to awaken, leaving the time at 8:41 P.M.

A pair of dark brown eyes fluttered open. They looked out the window closest to their owner, realizing that before he'd fallen asleep that it was still daylight out. Now it was night outside, black from the sun setting a while ago. Trying to get up, he had forgotten that he was not in his home alone. The eyes' owner stumbled back to his seat onto the stairs after feeling something holding him to the railing. After further inspection he noticed that his wrists have been bound together by a small rope. Everything that had happened leading to his passing out came back in an instant to the young man tied to his staircase. Recalling the threat of his Poke friend being put up for sale, he searched the scene of his living room carefully, spotting three young women crowded around the computer screen that was placed on a desk in his living room.

Hearing that Ash had woken up. Misty, May, and Dawn turned to face the young master with smiles on their faces. Ash remembered what the three of them did to him earlier, he still had not recovered from the familiar feeling of hopelessness that he had felt almost eight years ago. Despite the time elapse, the feeling was just as painful as it was then. "Hey there sleepy head, we were wondering when you were going to wake up!" Dawn said in a cheerful voice meant to taunt him further than he had already been.

In attempt to free himself, Ash jerked his hands against the railing hoping that something will happen that would allow him to break free. All the girls chuckled as they watched him try to loosen the bonds on his hands. Dawn went over and sat next to him on the step of the staircase that he was sitting on. Using her hand to make him look at her, she leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips.

_None of this is fair! _Ash thought loudly to himself. These girls were playing with his emotions whether they knew it or not. One thing was for certain however, neither of the females could possibly comprehend the severity of the situation on Ash's part. He couldn't stand the fact that he was being used for their entertainment whilst he suffers from this annual tradition of people lowering his self confidence. Regardless of his highly rampant mind, he still came under the spell of yet another kiss from one of the girls.

Pleased with the kiss she had won, Dawn pulled away with a rather evil smile for her. She laughed in her throat as she realized what she had done, what she has always wanted to do ever since she first met Ash. This did not take her away from her and the other girls' "mission" however. "You're just in time to! The buyer for Pikachu should be here any minute now, so you'll be able to send him off with a farewell!" Speaking sarcastically friendly, as though they weren't talking about such a cruel thing. His eyes shot open as he heard her say, "… buyer for Pikachu…" Hope in himself had run out.

Without the ability to think of an alternative option the once proud trainer began to plead the girls for mercy. "Guys please don't do this! I'm sorry for not paying you back when I should have! I swear that once I had the money I was going to repay you, but I just haven't had the chance! Please, you just can't do this, Pikachu's my best friend! Don't let someone take him, don't sell him, Please!" Tears slowly starting to form up in his eyes as he begged the girls to change their plan.

For some apparent reason, he looked over at his computer on the desk and on the screen read: "SOLD to the highest bidder no. xxxxxx" His heart sank as he read the bolded words on his computer screen. Not only did his "friends" put up his own Poke'mon for sale, but they auctioned him off to whoever paid the most, not caring who the buyer may have been. How low he felt, there was literally nothing that could… just then Ash heard a small and weak "Piiiiiiiikaaaa Piiii?" It was Pikachu calling for it's trainer by the name it had given him, it had woken up hearing Ash's voice, as he pleaded for his and it's own sake.

The little creature's voice rendered it's master speechless. His sanity had been reduced to nothing now. Hearing his Poke'mon's weak and defenseless tone was the final blow of the battering ram needed to break him. A moment went by with the master just staring blankly at his loyal pet. Nothing would have made him happier if he could get up and comfort his small yellow companion. But he couldn't do anything about his situation, Pikachu was restrained with an electric resistant rubber material. And he sat there, bounded tightly by his wrists which were tied to the side railing of the staircase. He finally spoke to his fluffy friend, coming out of the trance he fell into. " Pikachu… I'm sorry I let this happen. You didn't deserve this…

Just as Ash was going to say his last peaceful words to his friend, the doorbell rung. It's ringing was a grim toll to Ash's ears, he knew who would be at the door, the person who had purchased his most trusted friend like a common E-bay item. Suddenly the three human girls perked up and together said, "That's them!" They walked over to the still wrapped Pikachu and carried it to the door. With all that he had left to muster, Ash kicked and squirmed every way he could refusing to allow his friend to be stolen without a fight.

Time appeared to slow down as Ash watched the atrocity play before him. May and Misty walked over and opened the door greeting whoever it was that they expected to see. Although the person did not enter. Dawn approached the door with Pikachu who was confused but fought to free itself seeing that Ash was doing the same. Now at the frame of the door, Dawn released possession of Ash's Pikachu to this mysterious person. Each of the girls shook the buyer's hand and waved goodbye. As they closed the door a car was heard screeching off down the road, meaning that the buyer probably had a driver and sped away as he or she got into the car.

The three female trainers walk over to Ash and untie his restraints. He didn't react, he was too in shock over what he had just witnessed.

_I knew it was to good to be true when today started nicely. _Speaking in his head with a dead tone. It was official, his life had once again been ruined by the infamous holiday of which he believed there was no refuge from. Once again he was abused to the extreme for others enjoyment. Once again he was left feeling less than nothing. Once again he was ready to give up on everything and just fade away from existence.

The females were leaving, but not before they each put a kiss on Ash's cheek and bidding their farewells. They left his house with a slight giggle, knowing that their "trick" had been pulled off without a hitch. Not knowing that what their actions had just brought out, but they would soon discover why Ash was afraid of them earlier. For now they simply walked down the road as if they had just finished playing a game. Which to them, was what they did.

Back inside the Ketchum residence, there is a crumpled Poke'mon master on the floor of his home. Heavy sobbing can be heard coming from him. Everything that he cared about he felt as though had been stripped from him. Three young women that he had once traveled with had betrayed his trust, they had made him feel as depressed as he had when he was nine years old. To think that the very same traveling companions he would come to know would inevitably be the ones to hurt him the most eight years later. It was clear in his mind now. His suffering would continue forever, every year on the same day, facing the same brutality that he called his life.

Ash could no longer take it, he just had to end this once and for all just as he tried to those eight years ago. Normally he would have been determined to pursue the thief of his Pikachu, but really what difference would it make? By next year Pikachu or no, he'd face the same pain again and again. Tears continued to fall down his face as he stood up and searched for the tool he needed to put a stop to his agony.

Walking along the road the girls continued to joyfully reminisce over their "victory." As a celebration, they were going to eat at the local diner of Pallet Town to treat themselves for a job-well-done. Their march stopped as they saw a silver, four door luxury car pull up to the drive way of the town's well renowned Poke'mon laboratory. They watched two men get out of the car with travel bags in their hands. The man who had been driving was wearing a white doctor's coat, kacky pants and a brownish polo shirt. His hair was short and gray in color. On the other side, his passenger, who had spiky brown hair, wore a purple shirt, jeans and a yin and yang necklace around his neck.

After seeing who the two men were they gave them a pleasant smile and greeted them. "Hey grandpa, hi Gary" Each of the females said something similar to May's welcome. Both of the men looked at the trio of girls and smiled back to them. Prof. Oak set the bags in his hand down to politely wave as well as return the female's greeting. "Why hello Misty, May and… I'm quite sorry I know you from Ash but my senile mind is.." His tone was humorous, hinting that he was joking at the "senile" part of his statement. "…preventing me from, no now I got it! You must be Dawn." Speaking kindly to the girls as he approached them. Had he known what they were previously doing, he wouldn't have even acknowledged their existence.

While not mocking the old man, the girls laughed at his momentary confusion. They always enjoyed being in the presence of the elder wise man. He always seemed to manage to make everyone happy simply by talking to them. "It's always good to see you Professor! We're just going to the diner to treat ourselves to a little something special." Remembering the events that had brought them to this moment.

Oak smiled at hearing their positive attitude. Hearing them happy was similar to how he enjoyed hearing when his grandson Gary was happy. "My you three are in high spirits this evening! Might I ask what is the pleasant occasion?" Curious to learn what had the three young ladies in such a good mood. Not at all expecting to hear the next few statements come out of them.

Each of the females giggled when they were asked what had made them so cheery tonight. At first they seemed a little nervous to tell the truth, although they couldn't resist bragging about their most recent success. "Well, we just finished our prank on a certain, locally living Poke'mon master!" May said playfully, marveling somewhat at the memory. Both of the males' eyes widened in shock as they heard the words exit the brunet's mouth. Neither could speak for the first few seconds after hearing May reveal their actions towards the young raven haired Ketchum. Gary managed to stutter as he came out of his dazed state. "Yu-Yu-you didn't?!" Not noticing the gruesome look of horror on the two's faces, the three women nodded to confirm that, "they did."

Joining in, Dawn opened next feeling as proud as the other two in her group. "And man did we get him good! He never suspected a thing that we were up to until it was too late!" A wicked smile painted upon her head. Across from her and her friends the guys still hadn't moved out of their fear-frozen stances. " I didn't think it would have been as much fun as it was, but then we actually did it and was great getting the chance to get Ash like that!" Misty added on to her friends' own commentary. All three of the girls left themselves smiling at their recap of the prank that they performed for their target friend. Unaware that their statements may as well have been their guilty confession.

Bags were heard collapsing onto the ground after Gary released them from his grip. He ran up to the girls, practically getting in their face. Anger and fear was drawn everywhere on him, he looked as though he was about to slap everyone of them. "You psychopaths! Do you realize what you've done!" That was all he said before sprinting off towards Ash's home. Tears began to form in his eyes as he rushed to his rival-friend's home.

Chills were sent up the girls' spines after seeing Gary's reaction to their words. Their gaze remained fixed in the direction where he had stormed off. This did not last long as Prof. Oak explained his and Gary's serious attitude. "Ladies, we need to hurry on over to Ash's place. Get in the car, I'll tell you what's going on. And so the four got into the older man's vehicle and drove towards the home of Ash Ketchum.

Standing there in the living room of his once thought safe home, Ash held a small metallic weapon in his hand. There were no sharp edges to this item however it was lethal to any who faced it's power. It was what most people would call a revolver, specifically a three-fifty-seven revolver. To the one holding it however it was his key to freedom.

On a table that stood by the stairs was a wooden box, rectangular in shape, and open to reveal it's contents to the young Poke'mon master. Ash looked into the box and stared at the six very small objects that lay inside. He held up the weapon in his hand and popped out it's cylinder which had six chambers all around it's outer edge. With his free hand he picked up one of the rounds inside the box and loaded it into the cylinder which he popped back into place with the rest of the pistol, ensuring that the chamber with the bullet would be the first one to fire when he was ready.

Oak was driving along the road with Misty, May and Dawn in his passenger seats. Disappointment at the girls was blatant given his expression and temporary silence towards them. Composing himself to talk calmly, which he found extremely difficult considering the situation they were all in. "I suppose I should tell you why Gary and I are so worried right now. But before I do, you should know that by the time I finish you should be disgusted with yourselves." Dead cold was his tone, no anger, no strictness, no emotion what so ever. If anything had scared them the most so far about this conflict, it was the inhuman seriousness of the elderly man's voice.

Prof. Oak lacked the will to look at the girls who sat in his car. Forcing his eyes to focus only on the road while his mouth revealed the secret behind the sad tale that held such significance to _this day_. " You see it all started back when Ash was in kindergarten. It may sound silly to think that such a bad problem could surface from so early on in his life, but as I get to when he's nine years old you won't even dare laugh at the very idea of it today." Speaking powerfully, almost challenging the women in the car not to listen.

"Back when Ash had began his school years, some of the other children found out that Ash didn't quite understand what _April fool's day was_. So they decided to get as many children to follow him during school and around town to relentlessly prank him until he got inside his home or until the day was over. At first it was little things like slipping whoopee cushions underneath his seat before he sat down, tapping his shoulder and pretending that they didn't touch him, or when they would say he could play with them but then they'd take it back."

Sympathetic looks appeared on the girls faces as they listened to the horrible tale of how Ash used to be bullied in school. "You may be surprised by this but Gary was actually one of the very few students who didn't harass Ash at all. But if you think that I've told you the worst, prepare to be disappointed. As the years went buy, the pranks on Ash became more cruel and elaborate. The other children turned to doing things such as loosening the cap on the bottle of glue he was using so that it came off when he used it. Tying his shoe laces together underneath his desk to see him trip over after trying to stand up. Booby trapping his lunch box to explode paint onto him when he opened it enough. Rigging a bucket of water to spill on him when he came through a door. Replacing his pens with the kind of pens that shock you when you click them. Unzipping his book bag enough so that when it shook it would open and drop everything. Even so far as girls going up to him telling him they like him and make fun of him for believing it."

There was more to the list that Oak had to say, but was interrupted by Misty who couldn't take it anymore. "Oh my God Professor! Didn't the teachers or Ash's mom try to do anything to stop this?!" Heartbroken learning how cruelly Ash was treated by other kids his age. Oak shook his head and said, "It wouldn't matter. They would only do it to him for one day a year and when teachers did do anything to stop anything else from happening, Ash was already pranked and then nothing would happen the next day." Solemn from reliving the horrible past that once and still plagues the young master's life.

Their heads were in their hands from feeling ashamed for treating Ash the same way the kids from his past did. "I can't believe that Ash had to go through all that. Now I understa-" Dawn was cut off by Oak's intrusion. "No you don't!" Shouting now at all three of them. "You think you understand? Think that I've told you everything? I have still yet to tell the worst part of the story!" Angered by the girl's poor choice of words, feeling no malice for their feelings anymore, Oak told the final part of Ash's story in a way that lowered the young girl trainers self esteem. "Things had finally gotten so bad that one _April fool's day _when Ash came home, he tried to kill himself using a gun that his father left to his mother, ironic how it was supposed to be used for protection! The only thing that kept Ash from doing it was that he wasn't strong enough to cock the pistol to fire. Sure enough Ms. Ketchum had stopped him, and ultimately chose to home school him at that point. Then Ash and his mother had to face the embarrassment of the media getting the story. It took an entire five months for the story to die down! But you know what!? After seeing how traumatized Ash was, none of the other kids ever picked on him again! Although it didn't get much better for Ash too quick, his negative attitude caused he and Gary to stop being friends shortly after Ash tried to kill himself."

Crying was now heard from the girl trainers. The Professor had succeeded in showing them the error of their ways. Granted had they known the back story, they wouldn't have bothered Ash at all. Yes, Oak knew this, he also knew that he wasn't done with the girls yet. Taking a quick breath he put the final touch to the tragic masterpiece that was Ash's sad tale. "But if I were to say the worst detail of the story, is that April the first is not only a holiday which will haunt Ash to the day he dies. April the first is also quite sadly Ash's birthday."

Silence exploded from that last remark. Everyone's hearts were shattered at hearing this. It wouldn't matter how many times you could listen to those words. Every time would be as painful as standing next to a Sunday church bell. No one's ears couldn't possibly not sting after hearing such a painful thing. It quite literally seemed impossible to even try for Ash's friends.

The Professor's car had at last arrived at the Ketchum house. Prof. Oak, Dawn, May and Misty could see a enraged Gary pounding on the door violently and shouting at Ash to let him in. Unbuckling himself to get out, the old professor heard the other three car riders doing the same. He signaled to them to not come and wait in the car. Judging by his expression, he was not asking them to listen to him.

Coming up to his grandson's side with a key that Delia (Ms. Ketchum) had allowed him to have, Prof. Oak unlocked the door in a rush to get inside. Gary barged the door open after Oak unlocked it and ran inside. In one quick instant, Gary spotted Ash with the revolver to his head, went straight towards him and tackled him to the ground. Just as Gary made contact with Ash, the pistol discharged and a stream of blood went through the air. Back in the car the girls jumped and began to bawl their eyes out, fearing that Gary had been too late. Oak watched in horror as he saw the two young men go down and the action that followed after. With nothing else in his power to do the old man cried, "Nooooooo!"

In the Ketchum home before Gary broke in. Ash had finished writing his apology/ suicide letter to his mother, friends and Pikachu. He made it surprisingly long for what he was planning to do in a few moments. Standing up he turned off the television that he used for background noise. Then he walked to the door and locked the knob and deadbolt locks. How did it come to this? Thinking to himself. Deep down, Ash didn't really want to kill himself, but he couldn't take the abuse of April the first anymore. It was slightly funny to him that he never referred to April the first as his birthday in ten years. He specifically knows that he was seven when he no longer celebrated his birthday because that's when the worst of the pranks started to happen.

Soon nothing from the past would matter to him anymore, he now looked at the pistol that he had grabbed from the table. Ash was somewhat disturbed by how friendly the weapon in his hand looked. Not since he was nine years old did a revolver look so comforting. After all, it was the only thing that stayed true to it's nature as far as Ash was concerned. Pure. It would not mislead him of it's design. It would not turn against his trust. It was the one thing on Earth, that Ash could count on.

POUND, POUND, POUND! Three loud beats were struck on the wood of Ash's door. What did it matter to him who it was? As far as he knew it could be another prank waiting for him. He began to bring the gun to his head when in mid lift he heard the sound of a familiar voice, it was none other than Gary Oak. "**Ash, Ash! **C'mon man don't do this! You have way too much to live for, what about your mom?" _How did Gary even know that I'm doing this? _"Don't you think she'll be destroyed by this?" For a couple seconds the sounds from outside stopped. Both of the teens waited, one hoped to hear a response, while the other hoped for silence. Ash knew there would be people who would mourn his death, but he couldn't go on living with the pain that was his birthday.

Worry began to enter Garry, he assumed that Ash had either killed himself already or wasn't even going to bother talking before he did. Regardless of what was happening, Gary refused to give up. He refused to let Ash do this to himself and those around him.

"**No! **No Ash, you can't do this! I won't let you pull that trigger, you hear me! I'm not leaving until I save your stupid ass! So you may as well let me in! You got that Ash! I'll say it again if I need to, I'm not leaving until you let me in!" He carried on like this for a few seconds, not taking a single break, not until Ash let him in. "Damnit, damnit, damnit Ash! Just fucking let me in!" Once again beating the door with his fury.

A hand could be felt on his shoulder as it moved him over to the side. Seeing his grandfather stand there with a key in the door was the best thing he'd seen the entire time he'd been standing there. The spiky haired brunet wasted no time in breaking into the house once the door was unlocked. He spotted his friend with the gun he knew he'd be holding to his head. Racing towards him, adrenaline coursing through him, he jumped onto the young Poke' master and brought him to the ground. The gun went off with a bang and he couldn't tell who's just yet, but he saw blood spurt out from one of them after the pistol shot in Ash's hand.

Ash was going to pull the trigger. There was no doubt in his mind, he was going to do this. No longer having to worry every year about pranks or people harassing him to the brink of madness. His troubles would be gone, washed away like a footprint on the sand of a beach. The ironically sweet voice of Misty's words, those four words that haunted his childhood, would forever be silenced. Never again shall he have to hear "Happy April fool's day!" Finger getting tighter on the trigger… _this is it_… a little tighter… _not long now!_… just a hair away. That's when something collided with him, causing him to shoot the person tackling him, instead of himself.

Activity in and out of the Ketchum home had come to a halt. Those out in Oak's car were frozen from the deathly crack of the firearm within Ash's house. While Oak himself had been shocked after watching the two male teens go down. His grandson, Gary, didn't even feel the pain from where the bullet had grazed his shoulder. He laid there on the floor, hoping that he was fast enough to stop his rival's suicide attempt. Beside him, Ash looked up at the ceiling, tears cascading down his face.

Gary forced himself to sit up, then making Ash do the same so that he can talk to him. Although what was supposed to be talking came out as more of a lecture. "Don't ever do that again! What the hell were you thinking?" Shaking his shoulders as he interrogated him. "I swear to God Ash, if I ever catch you trying this again I'll beat you within a centimeter of your life!" Yelling in a more worried tone than an angry one. Secretly Gary was happy to have stopped the gun from killing Ash or himself for that matter!

Though Ash on the other hand, did not share in the joy of being alive. On the contrary, he was quite upset that Gary had foiled his self homicidal plan. Upset because he would have to remember what he had just tried to do and what had brought him to do it. Upset from the frustration of all the tears welling up in his eyes, which he dearly didn't want to shed. In vain, finally he gave up, breaking into violent whimpers before his two friends.

The two other men went by Ash's side and tried to comfort him as he sat there uncontrollably in his living room. Prof. Oak got him to stand up, although he did have to lean on him since he currently lacked the strength to do so on his own. "Come now son. You've had enough for today, let's get you upstairs so you can get some rest." Speaking gently to him as though he was trying to lull him to sleep. While they approached the staircase, three female figures slowly came close into view in the door frame. Horror and regret, spoken throughout their body language. Each of them looked at the backs of the two heading to the stairs, then they looked at Gary who was giving them the deathliest scowl they have ever seen upon his face.

Only one of the girls found the strength to utter a word, whether she meant for it to be audible or not, everyone heard the tiny voice come from Misty. "…Ash?" A catch in her throat could be heard as well when she said this single word. The old man attempted to get Ash to go further up the stairs, yet met only his resistance as he was mysteriously driven to counter the girl who called him.

When he spoke, his speech was shaky as a result from his sobs. This did not stop him from glancing at his three tormentors with an icy glare. "What do you want? Can't just let me suffer once but decided to come give me more? Why don't you three just get out of my life and stay that way?" Hate evident in his words, causing the girls to cry at his loathing towards them. Again Misty was the only one who spoke. " … Ash… we didn't kno…" This enraged the teen at hearing that sentence, he cut her off by shouting his thoughts. "**You didn't know! Is that supposed to make it better? The three of you sold my friend, humiliated me, and nearly made me kill myself! I begged you to leave me alone but you wouldn't! I made offers to pay you guys back but you went on with your sick plan instead! And the funny thing is, since today was my eighteenth birthday, I could have easily gotten to my winning money, but no you go and take the one person who actually did care about me on my journeys! Now I understand. None of you actually wanted to be my friend, you just wanted your fucking bikes! I mean, why else would you do something like this. So the last thing I have to say is that I really hope you're happy 'cause I never want to see you near me ever again!**"

Man it felt good, Was the first thought Ash had when he finished. Ranting wasn't in his nature, but something came over him that made him want to talk down to his once called friends. Getting to see them so ashamed of themselves, watching them cringe at his insults. It was as if he had regained some kind of power that they had taken from him. Then, as he was feeling the strength being restored in his body, Misty looked up at him one last time before she forced herself to tell the truth.

" … We didn't actually sell Pikachu." Her gaze barely meeting his. "What?" Asking in shock and anger of what he had just listened to her say. " Pikachu's at my Gym. My sisters took him there, they were the ones who took him away earlier in their car. The auction page is fake, it's just a program we put on there to make it look like it was legit. We were going to bring Pikachu back tomorrow, but I'll try to get one of my sisters to bring him back tonight. Ash, let me just say we're really-" "**Geeeeeeet ouuuuuuuut!**" Screaming to the top of his lungs.

His temper just blew, he had enough of putting up with all the crap of this holiday. It didn't matter who the girls once were to him when they were together. He was so angry at that moment he could attack them, in fact, he did. Two arms grabbed his entire upper body into bear hug. Oak had restrained him right where he stood on the staircase, then shouted for the girls to leave before Ash broke free. Of course they did as they were told, but they didn't leave because they were told to. They left because they knew Ash couldn't stand to even look at them.

For a final time Ash fell to the floor, groaning from anger and depression. He sat down on the stairs underneath him with Oak sitting next to him. The raven hair teen cupped his head in his hands, his vision cast down at his feet. Ash never wanted to actually hurt another person until now. Despite the professor and Gary comforting him, anger and pain flowed through his mind. He replayed the day over and over in his head, getting sadder, angrier and more stressed as he kept reliving what the girls did to him.

Again he was pranked, again he was picked on the worst day of his life. Except this time it was by people who he thought he could trust. However, if there was something that Ash hated the most about today, it was the fact that today was also his birthday. Which made it more of an actual curse to him rather than a fact. Thinking to himself he said, "yeah. Happy birthday to me!" Sarcasm embedded deeply in the tone of his thoughts. He stood up without saying a word to either Gary or Prof. Oak. Went into his room and got on the bed without even bothering to undress or get underneath the covers. While downstairs, the other two people in the house left. Locking the door behind them and drove off in the Professor's car. The latest chapter of the April fool's tale had just ended. (Is there to be another next year?)

**THE END**

A/n: So that's it. Don't know if I'll make a sequel. F.Y.I. If I do it might, _might_, end up as an AaMl. Sorry if the story isn't so good. After writing it I didn't think it was my best work, but it was an idea that got stuck in my head and I had to get rid of it. Plus I figured that since I was going to write it I may as well post it. Anyway, like I said earlier, the inspiration of this story comes from, "Dragoknight's" story called "Payment." Special thanks goes out to them for allowing me to write this story with similar content their's. **No**, this is not my way of trying to alter or express my opinion of how their story should have gone. I only say this because someone that I asked (due to their request I will not name them.) to read this was curious if that was what I meant with this story. Again, sorry, I wanted to be clear on that.

A/n: Well this is my first posted one-shot. Please let me know how you think I did. Review, flame, fame, report(if needed), and give opinion. See you guys later!


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